2 Swedes walk into a theater...

Went to my first concert of the year - a Swedish double feature of El Perro del Mar (Sarah Assbring) opening for Taken By Trees (Victoria Bergsman) at the Brattle Theater. I had seen (and loved) El Perro before but I was really intrigued to see Taken By Trees, Victoria Bergsman's project. I really like the Pakistani-flavored sounds of her latest release, East of Eden. And I really really love her version of Guns N' Roses Sweet Child O' Mine:

A short but sweet set. Blue Moon, which she introduced by saying it was an "oldie", goes back so far that she even had a "cheat sheet" for the lyrics (which, of course, I grabbed:) She rocked out more than the last time I saw her. The backing band was really solid and rhythmic, and I really enjoyed the songs, although most were from her latest CD, Love Is Not Pop, which I don't have. More patter with the audience than before too, although her claim that she had never been to Cambridge Mass before is wrong, as I saw her 2 years ago with Anna Ternheim and Lykke Li. But as I go to maybe three shows a year, and she probably does a hundred, I don't blame her for getting confused!

After a short break, Taken By Trees' set began with a video montage of her trip to Pakistan. Interesting choices of videos, from calm, serene, landscapes, to some sort of violent protest. Then the same band came out, only with Ms. Bergsman singing the lead, and adding a keyboard player, who she later said was new to the band.

Again, a very enjoyable set, especially the opener. I really like that song and it's inventiveness and power was really captured when played live. She mentioned one song was written for her cat (I believe Greyest Love of All). Lucky cat! While El Perro del Mar played guitar on a few songs, Ms. Bergsman was content to contribte tamborine to a few songs. But her voice is really beguiling and the encore rocked.

I got to talk with them both after the show, as they came out and signed CDs. I teased Sarah about forgetting her previous jaunt to Cambridge and she signed the Love Is Not Pop CD "Promise I'll remember next time! Sarah" - pretty funny! Unfortunately, I didn't get Victoria to sign the East Of Eden CD, as there really isn't anywhere to sign it. But I did ask her why Pakistan and she answered - why not? She said she always loved the drums and winds of Pakistani and Indian music and so went to investigate. I should have asked her if she was a Bollywood fan. But both were engaging to talk to and it's nice to get the chance after a fairly small show. I should have brought my camera and gotten a picture with both of them, as my cell phone camera is the pits, especially in badly lit places like a concert hall. Oh well.